Mark Williams Primary Medium: Paint Other media: Printmaking, Watercolor, Sculpture, Photography Keywords: Political, Conceptual, Kitsch, Surreal, Repetition

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Artist Statement
Since the start of the United States military presence in Iraq, I have been making artwork based on the inexpensive, small, plastic toy soldiers that so many young children have played with for generations. The fact that there are toys of men holding guns, toys about war, about death, and murder for children at an early age interests me immensely. To give a child these toys sends the message that war is not a bad thing. To introduce the concept of war to children in the form of a toy or game is to introduce them to it as perhaps . . . something fun, something to aspire to do in real life when they grow up. It is at this young age that so many ideas are formed.

More recently, I have been making artwork combining images of plastic toy soldiers and forms derived from Play-Doh molds. The playful forms quell and contrast the aggressiveness of the soldiers, making an anti-war statement fit for a three year old.























Artist Bio
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2007 “Killer Angels”, Grand Projects, New Haven, CT
2006 “Propagating War”, Windham Arts Center, Willimantic, CT
2001 “Paintings and Works on Paper”, AS220, Providence, RI
1999 “War Photographs”, New Youth Gallery, Hicksville, OH
“Recent Work”, Live Paint Fine Art, New York

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2010 “Large Drawings”, A-Space, West Haven, CT
"RE:PURPOSE", Popeye' Garage, New Haven, CT
2009 “A Book About Death”, Emily Harvey Foundation, New York,
NY
“69th Annual Exhibition, Connecticut Watercolor Society”,
John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT
“Soft Serve”, Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism
Gallery, Hartford, CT
2008 “AIRS”, Artspace, New Haven, CT
Red Saw Gallery, Newark, NJ
Artspace Spectacular! Benefit Auction Preview Exhibition,
Artspace, New Haven
Real Party Benefit, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
“The Toy Show”, Hans Weiss Newspace Gallery, Manchester
Community College, Machester, CT
2007 “48 Hours of Art”, First Night Hartford installation in Hartford
21 building, Hartford, CT
“You'll Shoot Your Eye Out”, Hello My Name Is Gallery, New
Haven, CT
“La Superette 2007”, Chashama, NYC
“Welcome to Me: The Artists of Me Art Gallery”, Me Art Gallery,
Washington, DC
“Black + White and Red Upstairs”, John Slade Ely House,
New Haven, CT
“Implode”, Hello My Name Is Gallery, New Haven, CT
“Playing For Keeps, Toys and Their Side Effects”, Atlantic
Gallery, New York, NY
“6th Lessedra World Art Print Annual”, Lessedra Gallery &
Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria
“Connecticut Contemporary”, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum
of Art, Hartford, CT
- chosen by Sol LeWitt for inclusion
“Spring Salone.07”, Lennox Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
“Three Rivers Biennial Faculty & Staff Art Show”, Norwich, CT
2006 “48 Hours of Art”, First Night Hartford installation in Hartford
21 building, Hartford, CT
“La Superette 2006”, Eyebeam, NYC
Roy G. Biv Gallery, Columbus, OH
“Moxie: The Best of City-Wide Open Studios 2005”, Green
Gallery, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
- curated by Jodi Hanel of Exit Art, NYC
“Toys”, Red Saw Gallery, Newark, NJ
“Model Citizens”, Artspace annex, New Haven, CT /
Rockingham Arts and Museum Project, Bellows Falls, VT /
Albany International Airport Gallery, Albany, NY
- curated and conceived by Michael Oatman
“49th Annual National Juried Exhibition”, Rocky Mount Arts
Center, Rocky Mount, NC
The Boss Show, Gallery Onetwentyeight, NYC
2005 “La Superette 2005”, Exit Art, NNYCew York
“Night of a Thousand Drawings”, Artists Space, NYC
“Politics as Usual” : Eight artists express their views on
America's foreign policy, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY
2004 “Fully Tilted”, Sideshow Gallery, NYC
“Full Tilt”, William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT
2002 “Hash Brown Potatoes”, Smack Mellon Studios, NYC
- curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud
“Pop”, Semantics Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“Paperwork”, Pacifico Fine Art, NYC
2001 “Red Hot and Cool”, Pacifico Fine Art, NYC
2000 “Sidelong Glance”, im n iL, Brooklyn, New York

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